A Flower Never Shatters
by Fierra
Summary: Lily and James' story of growing up with their beginning friendship, to their rivalry with each other, then back to their story of love. This story starts from their first year, going through the whole Hogwarts process again.
1. Birthdays and Hogwarts Letter

A Flower Never Shatters

Disclaimer: I'm only doing this once. I do not own Harry Potter. I don't even understand disclaimers. . what's the point?

Summary: Lily and James' story of growing up with their beginning friendship to their rivalry with each other, then back to their story of love. This story starts from their first year of Hogwarts to their marriage cause I can't bear to write unhappy endings. . .

If you ever find me using fanfiction terms such as chappie or cliffie, find me and slap me. I just. . .don't like those words; they sound so obnoxious. Otherwise, please enjoy. I wasn't even going to post this story, it was something I wrote for fun and I just felt spontaneous today, so I posted it.

PART I

Chapter One: Birthdays and Hogwarts Letters

**Lily**

In the Evans' household on May 15, everybody was celebrating Lily's 11th birthday. Lily Evans was not just a mere little redhead; she was special, and not because of her striking looks, but because sweet and fiery Lily Evans was a witch. Of course, she didn't know that. She hadn't the faintest idea that witches and wizards actually existed. She was, however, extremely pretty with her noticeable bright green eyes, creamy coloured skin, a very physically fit shaped body, with gorgeous red hair cascading to the middle of her back to match.

Around the rather large house that the Evans' lived in, with banners hanging everywhere saying, 'Happy Birthday, Lily,' or 'We love you Lily!' and even, 'You are the best sister anyone could have asked for,' laughter ringing all round the house could be traced to the living room, where Lily was eagerly tearing open her presents.

"Oh, I love the digital camera Aunt Rose sent me! I've always wanted one!" Lily cried happily. She set it down carefully next to the growing mountain of presents including two picture frames, a new computer game, a Limited Edition of a Beanie Baby, six books, a new sweatshirt, a fancy, beautiful white dress, 4 different gift cards, envelopes with loads of money in them, and the Box Set Edition of all three Lord of the Rings extended versions. The last present was from Petunia, who was telling her to open it excitedly. Ripping off the wrapping paper, she saw that it was a jewelry box. "It's a jewelry box. . . right?" Somehow, it looked familiar. . . . .Petunia shook her head, smiling.

"Remember _Anastasia?_" She began to sing softly,

"_Someone holds me safe and warm, _

_Horses prance through silver storm,_

_Figures dancing gracefully. . . ."_

Lily remembered. She and Petunia used to watch it all the time together.

"I love it. That's so thoughtful of you!" Lily said softly.

Her mum interrupted. "Now, you're probably wondering where the key is."

"We're giving it to you on Christmas," her dad smoothly cut in. "It just makes it all the more suspenseful." Lily opened her mouth to protest, but her dad continued on with the corners of his warm brown eyes crinkling into a smile, I mean, it's not like we're all gonna die or something." Lily rolled her eyes good-naturedly and gave in, and turned to Petunia to give her a big hug.

"Thanks, Petunia," she whispered into her ear.

Petunia returned the hug and whispered back, "Anytime, Lils," calling her the nickname she'd created years ago.

Lily's parents, Kathleen and Rob, watched their two daughters contentedly, thinking that their relationship would always last.

**James**

A few days earlier on May 9, at Godric's Hollow, in the Potter Manor, everyone was celebrating James Potter's 11th birthday. James was in the playroom, ripping off the wrapping paper carelessly.

"Melanie! You got me a broomstick cleaning kit! Thank you!" He ran over to hug his sister fiercely. She grinned devilishly, and attacked his sides, tickling. James yelped and scrambled away while his parents, Alanna and John looked sternly towards Melanie, who had a perfectly innocent face on.

"Alright, James, now open up the last present. It's the one Mummy and Daddy gave you." Alanna said with an unreadable expression on her face. His dad smiled gleefully and was about to laugh until his wife elbowed him in the ribs. After that, he had a straight, but rather painful look on his face.

James looked at the gigantic square box in front of him. He stood on his tiptoes, reached on top of the box, and pulled the ribbon free. The box split open, slicing through the air. James just missed it crushing him by leaping back a nanosecond before it would have hit him. He thanked Quidditch for making his reflexes lightning fast. His father and older sister were now convulsing in silent laughter. James mock-glared at them, and approached the second, smaller box warily, narrowing his eyes. Suddenly, he lashed out viciously with his right foot, and his family started in surprise. A small noise went oomph. Ha, so now he knew it was an animal. He relaxed, wondering if they had gotten him a puppy. He hoped it wasn't hurt from him kicking it's current home. Carefully, he undid the ribbon. . . and out leapt a three foot long, two foot wide tarantula. James stood in shock for a second, blood draining rapidly from his face, then, as the spider began to advance towards him, turned and fled, screaming like a little girl. This was one of the rare times James Potter _ever_ ran away from something or screamed like a girl. The remaining three family members burst out laughing. They knew that the only thing James feared were spiders. The spider slid on roller blades as John shouted, "Ridikulous!" and popped.

"Did you see his face?" John choked out.

"I have seriously never, _ever_ seen anyone turn so white so fast," Alanna laughed.

"I'll go look for him," offered Melanie who was trying to stifle her laughter.

James had raced to his room, locked the door and frantically pushed his desk, chair, sofa, armchair, and bed to blockade the door. Relieved, he hopped onto his large windowsill and ran his hand through his unruly jet-black hair, a habit he had picked up last summer. Everyone had always said he was an extremely handsome boy, and girls often gossiped about how cute he was. He had soft, hazel coloured eyes, jet-black hair that was always messy, a fit body from playing Quidditch since the age of three, and being born a natural leader, he had a firm and commanding, yet gentle voice. His keen ears heard the soft pattering of feet on the elegantly designed carpet in the hallway outside his room, and drew back in horror. How had the tarantula managed to know where his room was? James flung open the doors of his cupboard, and snatched his Cleansweep broomstick. Clutching his means of escape, James pushed his large window open, climbed onto the windowsill, and prepared to fly out. Just as he was about to take off, he heard his name being called out in a rather sing-song way.

"Jaaames!" A pounding on the door. "I know you're hiding from the big, bad spider who's going to eat your body then suck out your brains, but Mum and Dad need you downstairs. . ." she waited for a second, "NOW!"

When James heard Melanie's voice from outside his room, he didn't know whether to be immensely relieved it wasn't that- that _thing_, or to feel quite foolish. He hastily dropped his Cleansweep, kicked it to the corner of his room, and tried to move the furniture back to it's original place as quickly as possible as to not arouse suspicions of him blockading the door. Melanie, however, wasn't fooled. As James opened the door slowly, Melanie flounced in, her vivid eyes the same colour as James'; shiny brown hair tossed around, and looked around the room once.

"Spider scared you that much, huh?"

James put his amazing acting ability to use and looked thoroughly confused. "What are you talking about? Of course not!"

But Melanie was the only person James couldn't trick effortlessly. "Oh, really?" she asked sweetly, her sharp eyes immediately spotting the half-hidden broomstick. "I guess that's why you were going to fly out of the house. _Couldn't_ have been because of the spider, could it?" She looked thoughtful. "No. . .didn't think so. By the way, it was just a boggart. Dad just got rid of it."

James turned the faintest shade of red. He didn't allow himself to get embarrassed _that_ easily. "I wasn't trying to escape the spiders," he replied coolly, "I was just hot and decided to go-"

"Yeah, whatever you say," Melanie interrupted. "But seriously, we have to go downstairs and see what's inside that last box." With that, she clasped his hand and pulled him all the way to the playroom.

As James and Melanie walked in- or rather, as Melanie _dragged_ a frantically-trying-to-escape James, Alanna and John both grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry, just couldn't resist. . .the department had a boggart it was going to get rid of, and I just couldn't help it. . ."

"But you should have _seen_ the look on your face! And anyway. . .we have something that _just_ might make you forgive us." His mum smiled sweetly and gestured towards the last, rectangular present. She was really a beautiful woman with glistening, light brown hair, delicate features, intense brown eyes, and a slim body. She matched her husband's looks, who had the same unruly black hair as James and hazel coloured eyes. Many people said that James was the spitting image of his father.

James studied the box, trying to decide if any other nasty surprises were going to jump out at him. It looked rather like a. . .broomstick? He'd wanted a new broom since last year; he had outgrown the speed of the fast Cleansweep that most boys dreamed of having. He inched towards the present, carefully peeling the paper off, and opened it to reveal a shimmering Nimbus 1000. James' mouth dropped open in shock. This wasn't even available to stores yet and it wouldn't be until in two years! To him, the broomstick was practically glowing. He looked at his father questionably.

"I erm. . .pulled a couple of strings to get that." His father laughed nervously, but when he saw the worried look on his son's face, he quickly assured him, "Don't worry. It's fine. The broom's all ready to go out in stores, but Mr. Goodyear just wants more people to get worked up about it. Greedy bloke."

James sighed happily, "My life is officially complete." He didn't even notice a house-elf, Winkle, come in to clean up the wrapping paper.

"Do you need this cleaned up, Missus?" Winkle squeaked. Alanna had spent a good few months teaching the house-elves to speak properly. Alanna nodded with a kind smile. "Very good, missus." With a snap of her fingers, all the trash in rubbish in the room floated up simultaneously. Winkle marched out of the room with it parading after her.

James was still staring at the broomstick in bliss. Suddenly, he turned and hugged both of his parents. Alanna and John smiled at their joyous son, and shared a smile and a quick kiss. They were glad they had made their only son happy. James had never been a spoilt child, though having been raised in one of the largest and most beautiful houses in the wizarding world. His family, at the last count, was the third wealthiest family in the wizarding world. Despite this, James wasn't a snobby and stuck-up rich kid, and neither was Melanie. Their parents had brought them up to be good-natured, kind, and generous people, though James couldn't help but be cocky sometimes. He was also a big-time prankster. His latest prank was turning everyone's toothbrush into garter snakes. He already knew how to use magic, partly because of his family, and partly because he was a genius, and could read spells from books and immediately put them to use, though his parents magicked all the spell books to prevent James from reading harmful spells.

All of a sudden, an owl hooted from outside the window, and tapped its beak on the glass. Melanie let it fly in and drop two envelopes into her hand, one slightly heavier than the other. "Our Hogwarts letters have arrived!" Melanie exclaimed. She chucked James' letter at him, and he deftly caught it in the air. Melanie tore the envelope open, obviously searching for something, and out fell a shiny badge that said PREFECT. She squealed, though that was without any doubt the thing she was expecting. "Mum, Dad! I'm a 5th year prefect!" James rolled his eyes; everybody knew Melanie would be 5th and 6th year prefect, then Head Girl in the 7th year. As his parents hugged and congratulated Melanie, James gave the owl five Knuts. He opened his own letter and it stated:

_Dear Mr. Potter,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

Minerva McGonagall

_Deputy Headmistress_

James was excited to go to Hogwarts; he had heard so much about it from Melanie. He knew all about the teachers, schedules, Quidditch games. . .etc. The only thing he didn't know was how the students got chosen for which Houses. He'd heard about all kinds of terrifying ways: facing a dragon, having to perform a complex spell in front of the whole school, improvise a speech. . .the possibilities were endless, and no matter how persuasive he was (and James Potter is _very_ persuasive,) Melanie would only tell him to wait and see.

**Lily**

Lily went up to her room to put her presents away. As she was opening her cupboard, he heard a tapping on her window. When she located the source of the noise, her mouth dropped open in shock. "M-Mum. . . Dad. . ." she sputtered out weakly. "I. . umm. . .th-there's . . .I need you to come upstairs right now!" _Tap, tap, tap_, the beak went on persistently with. . .was that impatience in the owl's eyes?

When Kathleen, Rob, and Petunia rushed into Lily's room, they found her staring at a small brown-and-white owl clutching an envelope in its talons.

"Is. . is that. . an _owl?"_ Rob asked in disbelief. He turned to Lily's still stunned face and asked as though she held all of the answers, "Sweetie, why is there an owl tapping on the window with an envelope in its talons?" Lily shook her head, perplexed. Rob glanced helplessly at Kathleen who wore a look of bewilderment on her face. Petunia, however, had a scowl on her long, horse-like face.

"It's obviously Uncle Mumphrey," she growled with disgust. "He's the only one who's weird enough to send Lily a birthday card by an owl, instead of the regular, _normal _way." Uncle Mumphrey was the black sheep of the family. He was really quite odd, in a maniacal scientist sort of way. People often thought him crazy, but that was why Lily loved him so much. In turn, Lily was his favorite niece, and he often sent her little trinkets, like a dartboard, his own random inventions, Easy-Bake Oven, funny short stories he had concocted, random facts or quotes on little notes. . .etc. In fact, Lily was everyone's favorite niece or cousin. She was already the most beautiful, witty and smartest girl the family had ever had. Of course, being the perfect person, Lily often gave large parts of her many gifts to Petunia. Petunia was still ranting about how abnormal their odd uncle was. Kathleen and Rob were trying to shush her, but to no avail. Petunia had always had a phobia of anything out of the ordinary. She always shunned people who she thought were abnormal. The closer they were to her before they became "weird," the worse treatment they received. Uncle Mumphrey had been the closest of all so far, and he got the worst treatment. If he called and Petunia picked up the phone, she would reply in a clipped, cut tone; when he visited and asked for a kiss or hug, she refused, crossing both arms over her chest and glaring angrily at him. He soon learned not to ask.

Lily agreed with one thing though, the owl was probably a birthday card from Uncle Mumphrey. She sighed, walked over to the window, and unlatched the lock The bird fluttered into the air, dropped the letter into Lily's hand, and perched on her T.V., eyes gazing at her expectanty. Lily looked down at the letter, eyebrows furrowed in puzzlement. It was a thick and heavy yellowish parchment paper envelope. It was addressed to:

Miss Lily Evans

3 Marble Drive

Great Bookham

Surrey

All of it was in elegant writing in emerald green ink. She turned it over, and saw a purple wax sea bearing a coat of arms; a lion, and eagle, a badger, and a snake surrounding a large letter _H._ Lily was absolutely sure this letter did not come from Uncle Mumphrey.

"Hey. . .stop!" All talking in the room was silenced. Lily felt her cheeks burn as she realized her family was staring at her, waiting for her to speak. She was embarrassed easily. Clearing her throat, she went on, "This isn't from Uncle Mumphrey."

"Well then, open it and see which freak sent you a birthday card by an _owl_," snapped Petunia testily. She was obviously in a bad mood.

Lily forgave her and carefully opened the letter. She read it aloud to them:

_Dear Miss Evans,_

_We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

Minerva McGonagall

_Deputy Headmistress_

The room was so silent you could have heard a pin drop. Petunia broke the quietness. "Who's stupid enough to send you a dumb joke like that?" she demanded irritably. Lily didn't speak.

Lily's parents, however, weren't so quick to brush this letter off. "Suppose it's true," Kathleen said slowly, thinking out loud to herself "but. . .witches and wizards? But who would send Lily a prank letter like this, especially on her birthday? _And_, who could train an owl to deliver a letter right to her room in plain _daylight?_ This letter even _looks_ genuine. I can't think of anyone who would do this. . ."

"_I_ can," Petunia muttered, "some freakazoid who trains owls to deliver messages and stalks Lily! Why can't people just be _normal!_" Her parents ignored her. John, who had been looking thoughtful, spoke up.

"I think it's a real letter," he said quietly. He turned to his youngest daughter and spoke in that serious, quiet tone again. "Sweetie, I just thought about it, and my instinct tells me to trust it. I-I think you might be a witch."

Those eight words brought Lily out of her reverie. Thoughts raced though her head. I can't be a witch! I-I couldn't be a witch. .could I? No! Of course not. Witches have magic, work spells, and are old hags with warts and cackling voices. I've never done anything _close_ to magic. Except that time when I was three, and I really wanted a cookie when Mummy's back was turned. The cookie floated out of the cookie jar. I had always thought that was a dream. And another time, when my teacher made me stay in for recess, and his hair turned a flickering green. And I thought that was my imagination! Suddenly dozens of memories reeled in her head; events that she couldn't explain the cause of. How had the school bully suddenly gotten a broken nose as he was running after her best friend Krissy, trying to pull her hair? Why did it see like he had run into an invisible wall right before he was going to grab her best friend? How could she explain that when she played hide-and-go-seek and hid in a place where she was semi-visible, the best seekers couldn't find her? It was as thought she were invisible. Their eyes had looked right at her and saw nothing. How did it all happen? Memories swirled inside her head. But there a_re_ no witches and wizards, she told herself. But then why did she feel like what she'd just tried to convince herself of was a big, fat lie? Her natural instinct told her that she was a witch. All of her reasoning argued that she wasn't, but she had learned to trust her natural instinct years ago. Little did Lily know that all of the unexplainable events she'd caused were the markings of a truly powerful witch or wizard.

As she stepped out of the raging war going on in her brain, her parents looked at her expectantly. "Mum, Dad," she paused and took a deep breath," I . . . I think I'm a witch too."

"I refuse to believe this," Petunia snapped flatly. She stalked out of the room.


	2. At Diagon Alley Part I

Chapter Two: At Diagon Alley Part I

Summary: Lily and James' story of growing up with their beginning friendship to their rivalry with each other, then back to their story of love. This story starts from their first year of Hogwarts to their marriage cause I can't bear to write unhappy endings. . .

**James**

One week later

"Hurry up James, dear!" his mother called for the 9th time. James had just gotten out of bed and gotten dressed groggily, appearing from the long hallway leading to his room. He slid down the grand stairwell's hand rail, leapt off smoothly, grabbed three gigantic and delicious-looking muffins from another house-elf named Goldie, crammed them into his mouth, mumbling, "Thanks," and skid to a halt in front of his mother who was wearing a pretty muggle halter dress with floral prints, and saluted her- all in one fluid motion.

"A' ye suhvice," James burbled through a mouthful of muffin. James' mum sighed, unimpressed, and grasped his arm to drag him to where Melanie was waiting just outside the Floo Room. This was the room the Potters used exclusively for flooing. The room itself was small, but it had a six-foot tall, four-foot wide fireplace. Placed opposite of it were two overstuffed armchairs designed for comfort on could easily fall asleep in, and a magical bookshelf that currently had the top 50 books in the wizarding world that the Potters had in their collection in their humongous library upstairs, which consisted of more than 50,000 books, wizarding and muggle alike. The bottom shelf in the Floo Room was empty for whomever wanted a certain book. If you thought of the name of the book, if the Potters had it (which they most likely did,) it would appear on that bottom shelf.

Melanie, James and their mum each took a handful of floo powder, cast it into the fireplace, and shouted, "Diagon Alley," clearly with the tone of ease one had if they used the Floo Network often.

The Potters stepped out into Diagon Alley, and immediately, more than a few people waved their hand in greeting; Mr. John Potter, head of the Auror Department at the Ministry of Magic, and the rest of his family were in photographs in the _Daily Prophet _all the time. The Potters smiled back at them.

The first place they stopped at was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Madam Malkin came bustling up to them, a squat and cheerful looking witch. "Hogwarts, dear?" James nodded, already bored. He hated shopping, unlike his mother and sister who had already disappeared within the racks of clothing. Madam Malkin led him to the back of the shop where another boy around his age with black hair and chocolate brown eyes was being fitted up by another witch on a stool.

"Hullo," the other boy said. "Are you going to Hogwarts too?" James nodded for the second time that day. "Me too! My name's Sirius Black, what's yours?"

James recognized that surname and visibly stiffened. His father had talked about it at dinner often. "Those Blacks!" he would growl in frustration and pound his fists on the table. "Everybody _knows_ that it's them, but we can't find any evidence at all! Not one bloody shred of proof!" James became very alert, wary that the name Black associated with the Dart Arts. He would have to be careful around this boy.

"James Potter," he replied coolly. Sirius saw James stiffen when he heard his name.

"I know that you're probably thinking that I'm going to do some stupid Dark Arts thing to you, but I hate the Dart Arts. Unfortunately, my parents," he said the word with disgust and jerked his thumb towards a vicious-looking couple, "are absolutely _obsessed_ with it. They've been trying to teach it to me for the past six years, and I've always refused." He smiled bitterly, but still said with light-hearted carelessness, "_Honestly,_ they need to get a life. All they do is stay in their evil lair in the cellar and fool around with Dark Arts stuff. Oh well, their funeral. Now they hate me, and are working on Regulus, my younger brother. He's only 9 and _he's_ already in love with the Dark Arts too. I told him to marry them yesterday. But he was really mad at me just because I pulled a _tiny_ little prank on him. . ." James could tell that this wasn't just a "_tiny_ little prank" just by looking at Sirius' grin. He was liking him more and more. James leaned forward eagerly.

"Really? What'd you do?"

Sirius glanced quickly at his parents who were sending him glares, which he then promptly ignored. "I charmed his toilet to glue his buttocks to the seat, then had the toilet try to swallow him whole. Too bad my parents heard him screaming and rescued him before it did anything major." He sighed with regret. "But then, they gave me this hour long lecture. . .don't ask me what it was about, because I have no idea. I stopped listening after the first 30 seconds."

James burst out laughing. "I just pulled a prank a week ago. I transfigured all the toothbrushes in our house into garter snakes 5 seconds after they touch your teeth. Melanie's practically _deathly_ afraid of snakes, so when she was brushing her teeth, it turned into one that she thought was deadly. You have no idea how loud she screamed. She actually took hair cutting scissors from the medicinal cabinet, and stabbed the snake at least 10 times. The entire time she was screaming bloody murder, and was still screaming that loudly after she chopped up the snake and ran out. My parents gave me a lecture too, but I don't really remember what it was about either. I think I fell asleep. . ."

This time, Sirius broke out laughing. "Wait, who's Melanie?"

James answered that it was his sister right when Melanie walked into view with John and Alanna. James guessed he had apparated here. "That's her," James pointed at the dark-haired beauty.

Sirius's jaw dropped. "_That's_ your sister?"

James called out, "Melanie! This is my new friend Sirius Black!" Sirius hopped down from his stool just as his fitter was finishing and sauntered over to Melanie. He took her hand and kissed it gently.

"My most beautiful lady," Sirius began in his most charming manner. Alanna looked pleasantly surprised, Melanie found this adorable, John looked alarmed, and James was doubled over laughing, but Mr. and Mrs. Black had already been walking briskly towards the scene their older son was making.

Sirius did not get to say his next sentence completely, which was no doubt going to be as alluring as the first, because his mum snapped in a high, girly voice, "We're going. . NOW!" Her voice was much too high for a broad-shouldered woman, more handsome than beautiful, and it just didn't fit. Sirius glared at his parents, and kept going.

"You, my dear- hey! Geroff me!" Mr. Black had seized Sirius' collar, thrown a few galleons at the shocked Madam Malkins, literally dragged Sirius towards the door, turned and shouted to Alanna, "Get your bloody husband to stop investigating me!" Then, to Mr. Potter, with an even more malicious glare, yelled, "You will never find _anything!_" He slammed the font door shut shut, but not before Sirius got out, "See you on the train, James!" All the while Mr. Black was dragging Sirius towards the front of the shop, his wife was scurrying behind, scolding Sirius, "Don't mix with _Mudblood_-lovers like them," she turned and sneered at the stunned Potters. "They won't get you anywhere in life. But the Dark Arts will, oh yes, they will help you succeed in Slytherin. . . . . . ." the door had shut. However, a few seconds later, everyone in the shop and probably the whole street heard a thundering bellow, "MUM! GET IT THROUGHT THAT THICK SKULL OF YOUR THAT I'M NOT INTERESTED IN THE DARK ARTS, AND NEVER WILL BE! AND NO! I AM NOT GOING TO BE IN SLYTHERIN, AND THAT'S FINAL!" Silence.

James spoke up, "Wow. . .we're going to be best mates."

"Yeah. . .he's exactly like you," Melanie said wryly, referring to the scene Sirius had been making.

John looked thoughtful. "I _had_ heard rumors that the older Black son was quite disobedient to his family's will, and often causes chaos in the Black Manor. He's quite the prankster." He chuckled. "And my sources say that the Blacks are afraid to hurt him because Dumbledore will find out, and take him, who they consider one of the most powerful wizards in the entire Black family line. But they still hate him even though they're still trying to drill the Dart Arts into his head. He hates them too, though he has to stay with them because he has nowhere else to live."

Melanie ruffled James' hair and smile wryly again. "Yup, sounds just like our James. Brilliant, one of the best wizards of our family, and a total prankster."

"Of course I'm brilliant," he said cockily. "And of _course_ I'm the best wizard in the world," he added sarcastically.

Melanie sighed and told him, "No, you seriously are. Mum and Dad told me; you were able to fly a broomstick before you could walk-"

"But that just makes me a good Quidditch player!" James interrupted.

Alanna took Melanie's place, "_And_, when you were little, whenever you got mad, something near you would start smoking, or you would even start a small fire."

Melanie took over again. "You could also break things from a distance, like my bracelet. You were trying to get my attention, and I wouldn't pay attention to you. Then my bracelet started to move by itself, pulling itself free, and when I looked at you, you were staring at my bracelet, concentrating hard. Then when the bracelet finally snapped, you were wearing a smug little smirk on your cute baby face, just like the one you have on right now." She reached out and smacked his arm hard, which wiped the "smug little smirk" right off his face.

"Hey, that hurt," he complained.

"So did the bracelet snapping on my wrist," she retorted. James stuck his tongue at her and she grinned at him, and continued, "I only showed little signs when I was little- more than the average witch anyway. I guess I'm kinda strong. . ." she trailed off, unsure of herself.

James grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "You. are. a.powerful.witch. That's.why.you.are.a.prefect."

"But that just dependes on your person!"

"But if you _weren't_ more powerful than the average wizard or witch, how do you tell them what to do, without them challenging you to a duel?" James pointed out. That shut her up.

John cleared his throat, "Well, as amusing as this conversation is, we really must get going." Alanna nodded her agreement, and they left.

They stopped at Flourish and Blotts to purchase the long list of books required. James also bought _Curses and Countercurses,_ by Professor Vindictus Viridian. He thought that might become useful one day in Hogwarts; he'd heard that they would learn how to duel.

Afterwards, they each got a new cauldron, and the finest set of scales money could buy. As they were walking to the owl store, Eeylops Owl Emporium, Alanna noticed a mother and daughter looking quite confused and lost, dressed in casual Muggle's clothing. The mother had the same beautiful auburn hair as the child, though she had brown eyes instead of green, like her daughter's. The girl looked to be around James' age, and had an exceptionally lovely face. Alanna ushered her family to stop, and approached the two.

"Hello! I couldn't help but notice that you looked a bit lost."

The woman smiled with obvious relief, and as she was explaining how hectic everything had been lately, like the Hogwarts letter, the young girl stepped out from behind her mum. This was the first time James had noticed her, and was awestruck by her beauty. Her captivating emerald eyes sparkled as she glanced at him, and he suddenly got a strange feeling in his stomach; it was as if there were butterflies fluttering around in there, and when she looked away, he wished for her to have gazed at him longer, but at the same time, embarrassed that she had looked at him at all. He blinked, and the feeling was swept away. James had no idea what that feeling was, but it was definitely not good if it made him nervous like that. The girl's mum was still talking, ". . .and this is my daughter, Lily Evans."


	3. At Diagon Alley Part II

Chapter Three: At Diagon Alley Part II

Summary: Lily and James' story of growing up with their beginning friendship, to their rivalry with each other, then back to their story of love. This story starts from their first year, going through the whole Hogwarts process again.

**Lily**

One week later

A week had passed since Lily's birthday and the Hogwarts letter. They had no idea what the letter had meant by, "_We await your owl. . ."_ until Lily had suggested that perhaps it meant to write a letter and sent it back with the owl. Kathleen, John, and Lily had decided to completely trust these claims. If they really _were_ pranks, they were sure Mr. Evans could do something about it. After all, he owned on of the most prestigious law firms in Surrey. So they had sent back a response:

_Dear Minerva McGonagall,_

_We accept Hogwarts' invitation to the school and want to thank you for inviting Lily. We have but one question: where can we get the supplies needed?_

_Yours Sincerely,_

_Kathleen and Robert Evans_

Two days later, an answer came back by the same owl. It read:

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Evans,_

_I am sure that you have many questions about Hogwarts and the wizarding world. There is too much to explain on paper, I'm afraid. But, for the supplies, go to London. On the corner of Hyde Park and Gloucester Terrace, there is a shop called the Leaky Cauldron. Look carefully. It is designed so only people who know where it is for certain may find it. When you are inside, ask someone to help you get to Diagon Alley. Also ask to exchange pounds for wizarding money. £100 is worth 10 galleons. Go into Diagon Alley, and buy everything you need or find necessary for Hogwarts. Good luck._

_Yours Sincerely,_

_**Minerva McGonagall**_

Minerva McGonagall

_Deputy Headmistress_

So four days later, Lily and her mum left for London by train, but not before Lily talked to Petunia. Petunia had locked herself in her room on the other side of the house, refusing to come out except for meals, and even then she ate sullenly and avoided everyone's eyes, pretending that they weren't there. Once she was done with her meal, Petunia would the kick the chair she was sitting on noisily, and leave the dinging room without a word. Kathleen and Rob had worried about their older daughter and tried to talk to her when she ate, but she just ignored them and marched to her room. They knew Petunia was the kind of person who didn't want people to talk to her while she was upset except for Lily and even her only on rare occasions.

Lily knocked on Petunia's door. There was no sound, just as Lily would have expected from Petunia all week long. She couldn't imagine what Petunia had done for the past seven days to keep herself from going crazy. I guess I'm going to find out, Lily thought. Taking out two bobby pins she'd kept in her hair, Lily picked the complicated lock. She'd learn how to pick locks when she was seven, wanting to gain access to the playroom, where Rob had locked once all of her gifts in. It was a very useful skill. She quickly finished the task, and strode in her older sister's room. . .and saw what had kept Petunia in her room for such a long time. Petunia had produced a knife from somewhere, and carved into her white walls. Scrawled across in block letter, at least five feet high and two feet wide, were the words that hurt Lily most out of all things Petunia had ever said to her: LILY EVANS IS A FREAK!

Lily forced herself to keep looking around the cluttered room. It looked as though Petunia had tried to ruin everything in her room- slashing her silk curtains, stabbing the Persian rug, kicking her desk, chair, and more furniture over. She even somehow managed to puncture a hole in the middle of her T.V. The computer screen of Petunia's I-Mac was cracked; the large windows were shattered. Even though it was almost summer, a bone-chilling wind whistled a tone of hatred into the destroyed room. And there was Petunia, in the centre of it all, sitting cross-legged, and sneering evilly.

"You like, _freak_?" gesturing round the room. Lily's heart sank; Petunia had officially decided that Lily was abnormal, but being called a freak was the most insulting insult of all, in Petunia's mind.

"Petunia, why did you do all of this? Being a witch doesn't make me a-a freak! We don't even know if it's true yet!" However, Lily had just noticed a pattern. There had been a girl in Petunia's grade named Lucy. Petunia thought she was weird, and made fun of her all the time in private. However, a year later, Petunia decided that one of her good friends Katie was strange; she'd declared publicly that Katie was weird and that she would not be her friend anymore. Then her best friend Laurie started acting odd, and Petunia humiliated her in public by telling all of her secret o everyone. Last of all was Uncle Mumphrey, and now it was her. Lily was frightened. Lily was the closest to Petunia; Petunia loved-_had _loved her even more than she loved their parents, and Lily didn't want to think about what Petunia would do to her.

Petunia stayed in that sitting position, and all of the sudden, Lily noticed an air of difference around her older sister. Her aura was full of. . .frostiness. Lily had never thought about what Petunia _felt_ like before, but now the very air in the room felt frosty, radiating from Petunia. She smiled a cold smile. "It does not matter Lily, whether or not you are an old hag who brews potions, but the fact that _does_ matter is the fact that you believe that you are one."

Lily had had enough. "Petunia, what you are doing is _crazy._ Now, listen to me-"

"No! You listen to me!" Petunia snarled as she sprang to her feet and walked menacingly towards Lily. "You are not my sister and you are a freak! When you _used _to be my sister, I thought you were the greatest sister anyone could have! But now-now I realize that it was all lies! YOU were the favorite! Everyone gave YOU better presents, everyone always told out parents that you were so perfect, beautiful, witty, smart, pretty, charming." She spat out each word. "But what about ME? I didn't used to care about that because YOU were always so nice to me and cared about me! But now you've become a TRAITOR," she shrieked. "YOU'RE A FREAK AND I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!" She had tears streaming down her pale face starting at the first "I hate you."

Lily stepped forward, eyes glistening with tears that had started at the part when she'd called her a traitor, to make a final attempt to help her.

"Petunia. . ."Lily trailed off desperately. Petunia took a step forward too, eyes hard, but still with tears spilling out, and slapped her younger sister with all her might. The impact threw Lily to the ground. Lily could have stopped it, seeing as she was a black belt in karate, but allowed Petunia to hit her with such force to make her sister feel better. Lily looked up from the floor, right cheek throbbing intensely.

"Get out of my room," Petunia said in that cold tone.

Kathleen and Rob had been looking for Lily, but she wasn't in her room. They wandered around the house for a bit, until they heard a distant screeching from one direction. They looked at each other and ran to Petunia's room, knowing that Lily had finally confronted their older daughter. Even sprinting to Petunia's room took a full two minutes because the house was so large. They arrived in time to hear Petunia scream, "-HATE YOU, I HATE YOU!" Then in a much, much quieter tone, they heard Lily say, "Petunia," in a pleading tone, and three seconds later, a loud slap, and a thud. Kathleen and Rob looked at each other, horrified. They both knew that Lily had risked breaking her cheekbone or nose to make Petunia feel satisfied. Then, in an icy voice, they heard Petunia tell Lily to get out of her room.

As Lily stumbled out of Petunia's room with her cheek still stinging, she saw both of her parents looking at her, frightened, their gaze drawn to her right check, where there was still an imprint of Petunia's hand. She immediately turned her head, so they wouldn't see it, but it was too late. They didn't look surprised, just upset. "You-you heard everything then," she croaked.

Her worried parents glanced at each other until her dad finally answered, "We heard enough." Her mother's expression turned darkly angry and was about to go into Petunia's room to give her a huge punishment, but Lily stood in her way.

"Please. Mum, Dad, don't. I've accepted her opinion," she pleaded beseechingly, her usually sparkling eyes dull and wet. Kathleen and Rob understood her reasoning, but still hesitated, but finally agreed.

"But I promise you Lily, Petunia will get punished, one way or another. I will just do it later though, since you asked." Her dad sighed. "I can't believe Petunia did something like this. . ." he shook his head, muttering to himself. Lily was grateful.

"Come darling, we'll get a salve for your cheek, and then we'll go to Diagon Alley with just the two of us. Dad has an urgent case he must work on."

Three hours later, Kathleen and Lily were finally in Diagon Alley. They had taken the 11:06 am train from Leatherhead Station to Victoria Station, then taken the tube to Paddington Station, and then from there to Lancaster Gate. From there, they'd walked right, until they reached the corner of Hyde Park and Gloucester Terrace. Feeling a bit foolish, Lily and her mum walked back a little, and started inspecting the wall between a souvenir shop and the Queen Victoria Hotel. The wizarding community must be pretty powerful if the entrance to their "Diagon Alley" is in the very centre of London, Lily thought. But they aren't going to be so stupid that any fool funning his hands over this wall will be able to feel it. Standing back, she picked a pot right in the middle of the wall, and believed that Diagon Alley entrance was right there. And sure enough, a few seconds later, the souvenir shop and Queen Victoria Hotel moved aside to let this new building in. Lily blinked in amazement, then spun around to see if anyone to see if anyone else was surprised as she. But no pedestrian looked as though they noticed anything, though a couple were subtly staring at her mother, who Lily realized was still trying to feel the wall for any unusual crack or hole; she was touching the Leaky Cauldron door, and still felt only brick wall! Lily hurried over to her mum and pulled her back.

"Mum," she whispered, "look. Right there. It's the Leaky Cauldron!" Kathleen blinked once, then her hand flew to her mouth, eyes round as little ping-pong balls. Lily walked, trying to look confident, to the door and her mum followed in suit.

They entered a dark little and shabby pub, where old men and women were drinking tiny glasses of sherry. The bartender was a rather grizzled old man who was bald. He was behind the counter, cleaning glasses with his rag.

Lily and her mum approached the bartender meekly, their red hair standing out in the dimly lit room.

"Erm. . .we were wondering if-if you could help us get to Diagon Alley."

The bartender smiled, showing crooked teeth, set down his rag, and opened a door on the side of the shop. He gestured for them to follow him into the yard with a brick wall. The two Muggles hesitated, until one of the old women encouraged them in a raspy voice. "Go on. He's not gonna murder you." Another old lady sitting with her smoking a cigarette burst into a cackling laughter. They were still laughing when Kathleen and Lily went out.

The bartender was waiting patiently by the wall, used to this kind of reaction. The old man took out a wand, tapped the wall in certain places, muttering strange words, and stepped back. The bricks started to move, faster and faster, until it revealed a gaping hole in the wall. Through the entrance, Lily could see crowds bustling through stores. The bartender led them in. "Welcome to Diagon Alley," he grinned and left.

Kathleen and Lily stood, still shocked. Slowly, they made their way down Diagon Alley.

"Take out your list, Lily," her mother called over her shoulder, leading them both into a shop that looked like it sold clothing. Lily caught up to her mum, and rattle off the list:

Three sets of plain work robes (black)

One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear

One pair of protectve gloves (dragon hide or similar)

One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)

Blah, blah, blah. . .here, course books.

The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk

A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot

Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling

A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch

One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore

Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger

Fantastic Beasts and Where to find them by Newt Scamander

The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Wuentin Trimble

And then. . .oh, six more things

A wand

A cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)

A set glass or crystal phials

A telescope

A set brass scales

An owl OR a cat OR a toad

She finished, looking up. Her mum sighed, then made a face, realizing she had forgotten to exchange money. "Lily, you wouldn't mind waiting for a few minutes would you, while I run back to exchange money?" Lily shook her head no. "Alright, just stay here for five minutes." Lily looked at her surroundings as her mum rushed off. The shops _looked_ like normal shops, but Lily knew otherwise. She saw a shop nearby with weird objects in small fish bowls, tentacles waving around. She wasn't sure what it was exactly. Owls soared overhead. Boys stood by the Quidditch shop, foreheads pressed against the glass, staring at the Cleansweep. Lily caught snippets of conversations as people passed her.

"-galleons for a dragon's heart? Honestly, it's-"

"-get the Cleansweep for my birthday! I've wanted-"

""-to meet Albus Dumbledore! You _know_ how excited you've been to meet-"

"Hey Lily," her mum rummaged through her Prada purse and held up two foreign coins. "I went back and got 20 of these for £200. I'm not sure if it's enough, but if we run out, I'm sure we can go back and exchange more." She dropped the two coins in her purse again. "Right, let's go into. . ." she pointed to Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions, "there."

Four hours later, they had managed to get everything on Lily's list except a wand and animal. This was what Lily had been looking forward to. They wandered to Ollivander's, where a soft, tinkling bell announced their arrival. The very atmosphere of the place made Lily ant to sit quietly and speak in only whispers.

"Good afternoon," a soft, whispery voice said from behind her. Lily whirled around and found herself facing an old man. His eyes drew her gaze. They were wide, and looked like two shimmering moons. Lily forced herself to blink.

"G-good afternoon," she stammered. Luckily, her dear mum came to the rescue.

"This is my daughter, Lily Evans, and she's here for a wand. She's going to Hogwarts," Kathleen added proudly.

Mr. Ollivander moved his gaze slowly to Kathleen. "Ah, yes, yes," he murmured. Now he looked at the stacks of boxes piled up on shelves.

"I must take your measurements. Which is your wand arm?"

"Well, I'm right-handed."

He nodded briskly and told her to hold out her right arm. Immediately, a long tape measure with strange silver markings on them floated into the air and started measuring her. Lily got out a squeak of surprise, and heard her mother gasp from somewhere behind her. Mr. Ollivander started talking as he walked around the room, looking at boxes. "You see, Miss Evans, every wand chooses the wizard or witch. They all have a core of a magical substance, whether it be unicorn hairs, phoenix tail feathers, or the heartstrings of dragons. No wand is the same. That will do," he said to the tape measure. At once, it dropped to the ground, as Mr. Ollivander came over with three boxes.

"Try this one," he opened the top box carefully, and handed the wand to Lily. "Oak and dragon heartstring. 10 ½ inches, nice and flexible. Go on, wave it." Lily had just raised her arm, when Mr. Ollivander snatched back and replaced it with another one. "No, no, here, try this one, maple and phoenix feather. Seven inches and quite whippy. Try it. . ." Lily waved it around, feeling quite foolish, until a jet of black sparks spurted from the wand and blasted a hole in the wall. Lily was horrified.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I had no idea-"

But he was already taking the one in her hand, and giving her another one saying, "Ebony and unicorn hair. Eight inches, springy. Try it out." He gave no sign that he had even noticed her blast a hole through his wall, but Lily was still shaken up. When she hesitated, he told her, "Happens all the time," and raised his own wand, muttered an incantation, and the wall built itself back up. Lily gaped, but agreed to give the wand another silly wave. This one shot out an electric blue light, which ricocheted off everything until it sped back into the wand with a jolt, making Lily stumble back. Everything it had hit was broken, or in a different position. Lily felt her face burn, and quickly handed the wand back. Mr. Olllivander placed another wand he had gotten from a further shelf in Lily's grip. "Willow, ten and a quarter inches long. Swishy, excellent for charm work," he mused.

The moment the wand touched her hand, Lily felt a thrill go through her entire body. Sure that this wand was special, Lily waved it confidently, and colourful, beautiful sparks burst out of the wand and into the air. As the sparks gently showered down on them, Lily's mum clapped excitedly, and Mr. Ollivander smiled.

"Well, I see that we have a match-and a rather perfect match it is, indeed."

Lily couldn't remember being more excited _or_ happy in her entire life. The wand she was gripping felt like it was a _part_ of her, that it was something she couldn't live without. She tried to make her grin a bit smaller, but she couldn't. She was so happy!

"And how much will that be, Mr. Ollivander?" her mum asked politely, now standing next to her.

"Seven galleons," he said, staring at Lily again. She shivered, her happy feeling dropping a little. Her mum paid, and Mr. Ollivander bowed them from his shop.

"So now I need an animal. An owl, cat, or toad. Can I get an owl? Please, mum?

"I was going to decide the same. Okay, 13 galleons left," she said as she checked her purse. She started walking, then stopped. "I don't suppose you know where it is?"

For the next hour, Lily and her mum asked people who looked like they knew what they were doing, where the owl shop was. Unfortunately, as Lily and her mum didn't know, people who looked like they knew what they were doing were pureblood families against Muggles going to Hogwarts. This was because pureblood families who thought Hogwarts should accept all kinds of people, like the Potter family, wore Muggle clothing (it was in style,) and Lily and her mum based their judgment on what kind of clothes they wore. Basically, they thought people who wore wizarding robes knew the place, while people who were wearing clothes like them were Muggles. The wizards they asked were all pureblood and often gave answers such as, "Why would I tell a _Mudblood_ like you?" sneer, and walk away. After the third time of being called Mudblood, Lily turned to her mother, exasperated.

"What does _Mudblood _mean? I thought our kind was called Muggles?"

"I think-I think it means something bad," Kathleen answered, eyes troubled. "The word 'mud' with 'blood' can't be something good."

Both of them were tired, walking and asking for an hour already. Their confused expressions must have been apparent, because a woman with a lovely face suddenly said, "Hello! I couldn't help but notice you looked a bit lost."

Her mum sighed with relief, and started spilling out everything that had happened, starting from the letter to today, though not including the part with Petunia. Lily stepped out from behind her mum, and noticed a girl about 13 years old standing next to a boy around her age. The girl had dark brown hair and light brown eyes and a pretty face. The boy, who was definitely her brother, had spiky and messy black hair. He was almost as tall as is slim sister, and had a lean body and was _very_ cute. She suddenly had an odd feeling as she looked at him. It was as if her stomach had butterflies in it, and she felt a bit light-headed as she looked at him. She tore her gaze away, heart pounding. She was aware of him looking back at her, but pretended admired her surroundings instead, her face turning red. She blinked, and it was all gone. She shook her head slowly, wondering what that had been, why it had felt like a special moment, but it had already vanished, leaving her to wonder if she had just imagined it.

**James and Lily**

"Don't worry, Kathleen. We'll help you get to Eeylop's Owl Emporium," she said, "We're actually going there ourselves to get James an owl," Alanna nodded towards her son. The two families walked alongside each other, Alanna and Kathleen in a friendly conversation. Melanie introduced herself to Lily, and they started talking.

"So, how are you feeling about going to Hogwarts?" Melanie asked Lily.

"Scared," she admitted. "I never even knew witches and wizards existed, until a week ago, when I found out I _was_ one!" Melanie laughed, and proceeded to tell Lily all about Hogwarts, or at least, tried to, because Lily kept interrupting, eyes wide. But Melanie didn't mind in the least.

"There are moving _staircases!_" Lily's mouth was a perfect O. "They just. . .I dunno. . ._move?_ By themselves!"

Melanie laughed again and told her, "Yes. _And,_ the people in the paintings move too. And in photographs." Lily's mouth practically dropped to the ground. James joined the conversation.

"Here, I can show you one, if you want." Lily nodded eagerly, and James pulled out a recent picture of his family from the _Daily Prophet._ "This is my family," he showed her the newspaper article. The people in the photo were waving smiling, and, in James' case, winking. Lily blinked, and blinked again. The people were still moving. Lily shook her head in wonder.

"This is _so_ cool. _Our_ newspapers don't have photos that move! You guys are so lucky! Wait, why are you guys in the newspaper anyway?" Her eyes roamed down to the title of the article**: Mr. John Potter, and his family, Alanna Melanie, and James warn magic community of a possibly new, evil and powerful dark wizard**." The first line read, "John Potter sent his Aurors out to search the last home Voldemort has destroyed." "And what's an auror?"

"Well, I guess you know already, but my family and found traces of a dark wizard with very powerful magic at a Muggle home recently destroyed. It was a Muggle wizard's home," he explained, hazel coloured eyes troubled and angry. When he saw Lily's look of worriness, has hastily added, "But he'll be taken care of by the Aurors. An Auror is kind of like a," he paused, looking at Melanie. She finished his sentence.

"A peeleese-man. They are like an elite force of peeleese-men that take down the really dangerous criminals, like powerful dark wizards."

Lily giggled when she said "peeleese-man," and corrected her. "Actually, it's _police_-man. And I think you're talking about something like the MI5 or the MI6." Seeing her two new friends' confused expressions, she hurriedly explained, "The MI5 takes care of the big criminals in England, and the MI6 hunts down the really big international criminal criminals. They both have spies and stuff, and basically deal with politics underground organizations, which is like the Mafia, not _literally _underground, and loads of espionage," Lily had learned that, and much more from her favorite American television show, _Alias,_ even though that was about the CIA, American's Central Intelligence Agency.

James nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah, kinda like that. Anyway, my dad is the head of the Auror's department at the Ministry of Magic is kind of the magic government. Currently, the Minister of Magic, like your prime minister," he added for Lily's benefit," is Belectus Menglore. He's a great big toad." Lily could see that Melanie agreed by the satisfaction on her face. "The _Daily Prophet_, the newspaper that this is from, is also produced by the Ministry of Magic. Loads of people read and believe it, so the Ministry can put all sorts of rubbish in, and people will believe just that." He shook his head, disgusted. "Dad always taught us to trust our instincts, not any poison the _Daily Prophet's_ spewing out." Melanie looked her brother, amazed.

"I have never, ever, _ever_ heard put together such a clear and intelligent explanation on the spot. You usually just play pranks all day and can't add anything to any _intelligent_ conversation me, Mum, and Dad have at supper. Deep, James," she clapped her hands mockingly, "very deep." James punched Melanie's arm and retorted,

"Yeah, it _was_ deep, and clever. After living with me for 11 years, you must know that I _am_ the most intelligent wizard in the world." Lily laughed, a tinkling music that made anyone who heard it happy. But seeing James and Melanie pretending to fight in a loving way reminded her of Petunia and herself. Why did it have to change? James and Melanie, noticing her change in behaviour, fell silent, though still making faces at each other.

Why did Petunia have to hate her because she thought that she was a freak? It was unfair. Just because I'm a witch doesn't mean she has the right to call me a freak! Lily thought angrily. Petunia calling her a freak led her to thinking about what those nasty wizards had called her and her mum.

"Guys," she asked, "what's a Mudblood?" James stopped in his tracks as Melanie also froze.

"_Where,_ did you hear that?" James asked in a dangerously low voice.

"Well, before, when your mum hadn't found us yet, my mum and I were asking directions from these people with wizarding robes on. A lot of them were wearing snakes on their robes, or green and silver; is that important, or was I just being silly?"

"Yes, it's important. Go on," James said grimly. Lily couldn't understand why their faces were so serious and grave, but she went on anyway.

"So we asked loads of people dressed like that, and they called us Mudbloods."

"Was one family dressed like that, with a boy with almost white-blond hair with a rat-like face? The boy being around our age?" James asked angrily, so furious that Lily wouldn't be surprised to see steam coming from his ears.

Lily nodded slowly. "I think his family was the first to call me Mudblood." She still had no idea what the term 'Mudblood' meant, but chose wisely not to interrupt the two young Potters during their "angry fit." She wondered if the word 'Mudblood' held some personal meaning for them.

"Malfoy!" James exploded. Alanna twisted her head around fast to see if James was about to attack Malfoy as he had done once before to a girl who claimed she loved him and stalked him. When she saw that Malfoy was nowhere in sight, she resumed in talking to Kathleen.

"That little _git!"_ Melanie hissed. She turned to Lily. "A Mudblood is a name that some pureblood wizards call Muggles. It means, 'dirty blood.'" At this, Melanie's eyes flashed angrily. "Purebloods who don't think Muggles should be allowed in Hogwarts call them Mudbloods. It's really the worst insult to Muggles."

"Oh," was all Lily could say. She now knew that it was really a lot like Petunia calling her a freak. Being called a freak and Mudblood were really on the same page, and it made her blood boil She was _not_ a freak, and _not_ a Mudblood. At that very moment, Lily started to hate Malfoy. She had no idea why- she'd never met him before, but perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Malfoy had made her new friend James, and even Melanie, who seemed to be more clam, so terribly angry.

James was thinking almost the exact same thing as Lily. Malfoy had never done anything to him personally, except the fact that his family had caused James' father loads of trouble. Other than that, Luscius Malfoy hadn't done anything to James. The only reason he'd asked Lily was because he'd seem Malfoy and his family on the street before. Malfoy had been wearing a self-satisfied smirk, which turned into a cold glare once he saw James. Malfoy had no reason to hate James though; he just did because the Potters were supposedly "Muggle-loving." From that moment on however, James started hating Luscius Malfoy, though he hadn't done him any harm. But he _did_ do Lily harm, by calling her a-a Mudblood, and that is the reason why James Potter and Luscius Malfoy became arch-enemies forever.

Melanie had calmed down a little, while James was still raging on. "Lily, if anyone, _anyone_ at all, calls you that word ever again, tell me. I'm a 5th year prefect for Hogwarts. Report any name calling at all."

Lily nodded to show her understanding. From then on, Lily thought of Melanie as an older sister, something Petunia had ceased to be. Then she had a sudden thought. "Aren't you two purebloods too? I mean, well, you know about everything and stuff, so I just assumed-" Lily stopped, afraid she had offended them. She should have just kept her mouth shut.

James read her fearful countenance correctly and smiled. "Yes, there are _some _pureblood families who don't like Muggles in magic schools, but only some. A lot, like us, love having non-magic families in the schools."

Lily's eyes widened in amazement. "There are more schools like Hogwarts!"

James tried not to laugh at Lily's comical expression. "Sure, there's Beauxbaxton and Durmstrang, but they're in-"

"Alright, we're finally here!" Alanna announced. They all looked up, and saw the name of the building they were in front of: Eeylops Owl Emporium. They entered a dimly lit shop, with cages littered all round in a disorderly fashion with various kinds of owls in them. There were few other customers in the store.

James walked around, trying to find the perfect owl. Many preened their feathers vainly, beautiful owls, but none that caught James' fancy. He kept searching until at last, he found a gorgeous Snowy owl. Even sleeping, it looked regal, yet able to deliver messages reliably and swiftly. He looked on the tag of the rusty cage, awakening the owl. The tag read: three galleons, female, Snowy owl. He looked up to find the owl gazing at him with startling but beautiful and intelligent green eyes. They were full of compassion, generosity, fierceness, and love. They reminded him of something, but when he couldn't remember what, brushed it off. The owl did nothing to try and impress him. By doing this, James was already impressed. This owl is special, he thought. Green eyes. . .it's just so amazing. He walked hack towards the counter with the cage in hand.

The same time James had been looking for an owl, Lily had gone in the other direction and searched too. She didn't really know what she was searching _for,_ just something. . . _special_, and different from the others. Attractive owls tried to show off to her their large wingspan, but Lily hurried past those. An arrogant, self-absorbed bird was not what she was looking for. She searched and searched, until a quietly asleep Snowy owl caught her eye. It was a very handsome and strong-looking white owl. The moment she leaned nearer to the cage, it opened its eyes. Lily stood, transfixed by what she saw in the eyes. They were a hazel colour, like someone's she couldn't remember at the moment; bravery, alertness, protectiveness, and love flowed from the familiar eyes. Squinting to see the tag on the cage, she saw: three galleons, male, Snowy owl. The owl sat there, unmoving, not trying to show off. The moment it had opened its eyes, Lily knew that it was the perfect owl. She gently took hold of the cage, and brought it to the counter, where James' mum, Kathleen, Melanie, and. . . . . .James were waiting. Something tickled her mind that she couldn't place her finger on.

Alanna had paid for the owl and a deluxe cage happily, sensing that her son had found the perfect owl for him. James watched as Lily got nearer, his mind brushing onto something, but what, he did not know.

Lily's mum counted out three galleons and seven sickles (with Alanna's help) to the shopkeeper, a short, bald man, for the owl and the same luxurious cage James had purchased.

Lily spotted James' owl, "Hey! We have the same kind of owl!" she exclaimed. "Is it a girl or boy?" she wanted to know, kneeling to look at his owl. She was startled to see a pair of emerald green eyes gazing back at her. She straightened and met James' eyes. "You owl has the same eyes as-"

"You," James finished softly. How could he have forgotten! His owl's eyes reminded him exactly of Lily, the same feelings, same beauty, same colour. He knelt down next to Lily's white owl, and saw a pair of eyes the exact same colour as his. "Lily!" he gasped. "Your owl-it's eyes are the same as-"

"Yours," she realised quietly. She knew that it had reminded her of someone. She kneeled down next to James, looked at her owl's eyes, then at James. They both had the same traits, same handsomeness, same coloured eyes. How had she forgotten before?

James and Lily stared at each other, between the two, a silent mixture of feeling that words couldn't describe, yet they both understood. All of the sudden, the atmosphere lifted, and they both straightened.

"I'm going to name her Lily," announced James.

"I'm going to name him James," declared Lily at the exact same time. They grinned foolishly at each other.

Melanie came up to them, putting an arm round their shoulders. "Hello-o? We're leaving now." They quickly picked up their owls and let Melanie steer them towards the exit, with their cheeks coloured; James' only tinged with pink, and Lily's a bright red, which was contrasting horribly with her auburn hair, at Melanie's last sentence. They both knew that they had been too lost in their own world to hear people calling them from the other, but it was not an any less real world.

**Thanks so much to Eva Angel, and Hazelocean for being my first ever reviewers!**


	4. A Flower Nevers Shatters

Chapter Four: A Flower Never Shatters

Summary: Lily and James' story of growing up with their beginning friendship, to their rivalry with each other, then back to their story of love. This story starts from their first year, going through the whole Hogwarts process again.

**Lily**

Two months later

The afternoon before Lily was to go to Hogwarts, her mum knocked on her door.

"Come in!" Lily shouted, her head buried in her closet, rummaging through clothes. She couldn't bring too many Muggle clothes, since she probably couldn't wear them often, so Lily was picking her best outfits to bring. He mum slipped in, a velvet black box behind her back, unnoticed by Lily, who'd just poked her head out. Kathleen made her way to Lily's Queen-sized bed, Her mum slipped in, a velvet black box behind her back, unnoticed by Lily, who'd just poked her head out. Kathleen made her way to Lily's Queen-sized bed, pushed aside a skirt, tank top, and blouse to make room for two people, and gingerly sat down. She patted the empty spot next to her to indicate that Lily should sit there. Lily obeyed, her green eyes filled with curiosity.

"Lily," her mum began, "I feel like I must tell you something before you go off to Hogwarts. You see, you are not named Lily for no reason. Have you ever wondered why I named you and Petunia after flowers?" It really was a rhetorical question, so Lily didn't answer. "When a flower falls, it falls gracefully, and it won't shatter. Glass will shatter into a million pieces, but never a flower. When it is in the dirt, it may get stepped on, but still it won't shatter." She paused, seeing a look of thoughtfulness on her younger daughter's face. "Also, when a flower is still standing strong, and someone comes along to tear out its petals, the flower will still remain standing; come spring, it will blossom again into a beautiful flower. I am sure that you will live up to your name, but sadly, Petunia has showed that she can't live up to her." She smiled plaintively.

Lily looked down at her hands, unsure of what to say to this wonderful praise from her mother. Kathleen lifted Lily's chin up with two, long, cool fingers. Green met green.

"Never shatter, Lily. You can fall, but don't break down, no matter how hard it seems. And when your heart is ripped out, a person or time will come to make you blossom again. Never give up, and never shatter. . . . ." Kathleen half-hugged Lily, and brought out the black velvet, rectangular jewelry box and flipped it open. Lily gasped. Inside was the most beautiful necklace Lily had ever seen. It was elegant and simple, a stunning emerald green lily flower, attacked to a thin, shining silver chain. The necklace was a breathtaking sight.

"Lily," her mum said quietly, "This is a diamond necklace." At this, Lily gasped a second time. "Diamond is the hardest type of rock on this planet. It symbolizes you, a flower that will never break or shatter."

"Mum," Lily started softly, her sparkling eyes shining with unshed tears. "I have no idea what to say-I-thanking you a million times wouldn't be enough," she stopped, trying to think of something to say. "I-I just can't say anything!" She pulled her mother into a fierce hug, holding on tightly, wanting to never let go.

Kathleen gently pried Lily's arms off her. "This is also the key to Petunia's music box. It's also the key to an actual jewellry box we bought for you as a go-away present, along with this. It's in me and Rob's room right now."

"This," she couldn't speak. Clearing her throat, she found her voice again. "This was my Christmas present?"

"Well, yes and no. All we knew was that we would get you a key, but Rob and I decided on a diamond about a month ago, in July. We had to get it customised and everything, but I'm so happy that you love it." Kathleen smiled a beautiful smile. "Come on, I'll show you the jewellry box," extending her hand to Lily. Lily grabbed it, and was pulled into the hallway, towards her parents' bedroom. Kathleen opened the cupboard, which revealed an impressive royal red jewelry box. Lily gasped for the third time that day. Studded along the sides were gleaming sapphires, and the lock was surrounded by emeralds. The lock itself was crystal, and like the necklace; simple, yet elegant.

"It's in Christmas colours, because we knew that it was your favourite holiday. Open it," she added, her eyes twinkling. Lily gently eased the entire flower of her necklace in. It fit perfectly. She twisted it slowly to the left. A series of clicks went off; Lily knew that it was the complicated, tiny locks hidden inside. She held her breath, as the lid gracefully lifted open with a _whoosh_! sound.

Lily couldn't believe her eyes. She just couldn't, even though she had blinked several times, and still saw this in front of her.

Jewells. Heaps and heaps of precious gems. They were necklaces, earrings, rings, bracelets, and even one anklet. The jewells were all different sizes, shapes, and colour. Lily turned to her mum.

"I can't accept this," she told her mum quietly. "I know that we have a lot of money, but _this? _All these jewells worth a fortune just for me?" She shook her head. "No mum, take it back. I just-I just can't."

But her mum had been smiling the whole time, and it was her turn to shake her head this time. "No, sweetheart, only the necklace you're holding right now if our present. And the jewellry box," she added as an afterthought. "They rest are from our relatives, our familiy friends, and your friends' families. We told them that if they were going to get you a going-away present for "boarding school," to get you jewells as a surprise. I told them it didn't matter what kind they were, as long as they were fit for a jewellry box. But I guess that everyone loves you so much, they decided to get you these amazing and expensive gems." Lily stared, shocked, as her mum was naming each stone, "and another diamond necklace, a ruby bracelet, and emerald ring with a matching bracelet. . .oh, the diamond earrings to match the necklace, a crystal necklace and earrings. . .and opal ring, this sapphire anklet, a sapphire necklace, pretty gold earrings, and a bracelet to match, two pearl necklaces, four different kinds of emerald necklaces, two emerald bracelets, and one pair of dangling emerald earrings." Kathleen looked up, eagerly anticipating Lily's expression, eyes dancing.

Throughout the entire time her mum was reading, Lily's eyes had widened, with her jaw dropping lower to the ground with each expensive gem's name. She felt numb; people game all of this to _her!_ She couldn't believe it, she just couldn't. She didn't deserve it all, especially for lying to everyone about where she was going. "I-I don't know what to say. . .again." She gave out a little giggle. "I'm being so surprised today. . . I have to go write Thank You cards." She got up and left, but not before kissing her mum on the cheek. "You are the great mum in the entire universe. You have no idea how many and how much people love you. _I_ love you to death. Thank you so much," she whispered fiercely.

**James**

September 1, 9:00 am

_James was on his new Nimbus 1000, soaring through the air. The wind swept through his already messy hair. He was flying over his family's Quidditch field, enjoying every minute of it. The thrill, the adventure. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of red hair. James swerved his broom around, and saw from far away, Lily Evans' pretty face looking up at him. Happy to see her, James prepared to dive towards her. . . until some invisible force thumped him on his side. He pivoted in mid-air to face his unseen enemy, but suddenly, his broom jerked. It was as if something controlled his broomstick. His broomstick jumped again, shoving him off. James' lightening quick reflexes saved him; his arm shot out, and seized his broomstick, though it was unexpectedly soft, and a bit larger than the handle._

A yelp awoke him from his eventful dream. A millisecond later, his back struck his carpeted ground, with another person whose arm he was still grasping, landing on top of him. The person sat up on their stomach, silky black hair spilling down half of her back. She snatched her arm away from his tight hold, massaging it as he tried to sit up. In response, she moved to sit on his chest.

"Aria. . ." James groaned. Aria was the daughter of the Potters' best family friend, and very good friend of James and Melanie. The Darbyshires were a pureblood family, and Aria's father, Da-Jun, was the owner of Gringotts. Her mother, Darlene Darbyshire, was best friends with Alanna and Da-Jun with John. They had a son too, Jon, who was four years younger than Aria and James. James thought of Aria as his little sister, as Aria and Jon both thought of him as their older brother. Aria herself was really quite beautiful. Her family was Chinese-English, and they all spoke Mandarin fluently. She had a flawless face, porcelain skin, and delicate features. Her dark brown eyes usually had a sparkle in them, which matched to sparkly, dangling earrings she loved to wear. Her smooth black hair always seemed perfect, and she had a slim, dancer's body. When he thought of her, he often was reminded of the graceful elves from Lord of the Rings, his favorite Muggle movie. When she moved, she didn't just move; she floated or flowed smoothly. Yes, Aria was definitely one of the most beautiful girls James had ever met; in fact, she was second only to Lily, who _was_ the most beautiful girl he'd ever met.

Aria's striking looks were not her only admirable qualities. She was also stubborn and fierce, passionate in what she believed in. Even though James did know, Lily had the exact same qualities. Even there, the Chinese-English girl's abilities didn't end. She was simply amazing. She excelled at almost anything she did, which covered many things. Aria horse-rode, played the piano and violin, danced many different types of dances, trained in Japan with a personal ninja teacher, was within the top 50 archers in England under the age of 21, and most of all, was kind to people she thought deserved it, and very intelligent. He also knew that she was usually shy except to close friends and family.

"Your mum and dad sent me to wake you up," Aria grinned.

"And something hitting my side, _hard," _demanded James, "was you!" She just shrugged.

"Well, I knew that you would sleep through anything, so I jumped on you. Then, I just bounced on your bed, waiting for you to wake up." Aria looked cheerful.

"You turned my really good dream into a nightmare," James complained. "I thought my new broom had lost control!" He hauled himself up to his bed, and chucked a pillow at Aria. She deftly caught it, and returned fire.

"So, what'd you get?" Aria asked curiously. Then, something dawned on her face. "You got the Nimbus 1000, didn't you! That's so cool! That's not gonna be out in stores until January!"

"Your dad did the same thing when he got someone to build an entire Muggle World section in your house!" James shot back. "Normal wizards weren't supposed to even _know_ about it until half a year later!"

"Fine then, we're even, but you still got a Muggle World two months after I got mine! _And_,in your Muggle World, you got an ice rink, and an indoor mountain!"

"_You_ have an indoor mountain too, and you have a fake beach to surf on," James retorted. He pulled out a robe, just as Aria was leaving.

"Well, breakfast's in ten minutes," she said right before she disappeared out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, a yawning James Potter trudged down the stairs specially for the kitchen. John, Alanna, Da-Jun, Darlene, Melanie, Aria, and Jon were already seated at the smallest of their four dining tables. The smallest was in the kitchen, which was the one they used usually, or when less than five very close friends came. The second table was in the dining room adjoined to the kitchen, which was bigger, and what hey used when either more than five very close friends came, or when just normal friends came. The third table was in a larger and fancier room. The table fit approximately 30 people, for when the Potters had many guests over. This dining from had many costly decorations, with a small dance floor. The final dining table was in the Potters' ballroom. This antique table could seat well over 350 people, used only for very, very special occasions, and the Potters' annual Christmas Ball. The room was pentagon shaped, and was so large, one could hardly see someone else on the opposite side of the room. Silk tapestries hung from the cream coloured walls. There was an enormous dance floor sprawled across the middle of the marble floor. Adjacent to the long dining table was and empty space, where, during a ball, it would be filled with rows of various kinds of delicious food. On the opposite side of the room, there was an entire section filled with comfortable furniture. This was a more secluded spot, littered with couches, sofas, armchairs, love chairs. . . etc. Far away from it, in front of the dance floor, was a large stage, with all the magic-of-the-art technology any music group could dream of. There were two grand, red-carpeted staircases. One was the grand staircase, in which the guests arrived, and their name and title announced. The other smaller, but equally elegant staircase had dashing blue curtains at the top, which would reveal the guests of honor, usually a couple. It was every wizard or witch's dream to be invited to either the Potter's extravagant Christmas Ball, or the Darybyshire's equally famous New Year's Ball. Many of the wizarding world's richest, most powerful, and most well-known families were included at these amazing parties.

James was known for never being punctual. When he arrived at the table, everyone greeted him. He let his nose lead him to the mouth-watering chocolate chip pancakes the house-elves had made. James helped himself to six before he settled down at the table to pour mounds of maple syrup on his rather large stack of pancakes. Nobody at the table even blinked once at this. They had all eaten with James more than enough times to know that James ate more than three grown men do, and never gained a pound from doing it. They knew James would probably go get more soon, and sure enough, six minutes later, James got up to pile another six on his plate before most of them had finished even three pancakes yet.

"So James, Aria," Melanie started a conversation casually, "ready for the test that sorts you into Houses?" James and Aria looked at each other, trying not to show their fear.

"Oh yes. I remember that," Darlene said, sipping her coffee. "The. . . . . ._Sorting_." Aria's mum shuddered.

"Remember, we became friends on the train, Darlene? We didn't know what to expect. We were so scared. . ." she left of morbidly. Their husbands too, seemed to shiver at the very thought.

James and Aria were even more terrified now. James then did something he'd never done before. He pleaded with Melanie. "Melanieeeee! You have to tell me! If it's really dangerous, I might die!"

"Melanie! I'm like your little sister! What if I don't get into Gryffindor! I want to be able to prepare!" Aria had joined in; two were more powerful than one. But Melanie was not swayed.

"Aria, I am absolutely sure that you will get into Gryffindor," Melanie assured her. "And you too, James. You both will no doubt be chosen for Gryffindor." Then, to make the process of choosing even more mysterious, she told them in a hushed tone, "The thing you have to do, it's so powerful that it knows what's going on in your _head!"_ The two first-years' eyes widened.

"How can we possibly defeat something _that_ powerful?" Aria said fearfully. She looked at the other 11-year old boy. For the rest of the morning, they remained quiet, thinking hard of ways to beat this horrible thing in their near future; they thought through heaving their trunks to the Floo Room, flooing to Diagon Alley, and until right before they were about to walk through the barrier.

James and Aria had just stopped thinking. Should they use their martial arts skills to defeat the thing? Aria was an almost fully trained ninja, while James was a Merlin belt, which was the highest belt, in Shiko, the wizarding martial arts which taught a mixture of Muggle hand-to-hand combat, and how to best avoid spells and curses from other wizards. But what if they weren't chosen for a House because all they had shown was their ability for Muggle hand-to-hand combat? Would they immediately be expelled? Were they supposed to show what magic they knew? Thoughts like these had raced through their heads.

James woke out of his trance with his mum calling out his name; Aria did the same with her mum calling hers. James noticed his owl, her unblinking eyes looking as though she were thinking deeply about something. "Hi Lily," he greeted her softly. Then he remembered the human Lily. "Mum!" he shouted as a thought struck him. "Lily doesn't know how to get on the train!"

Alanna smiled reassuringly. "No, love. I told Kathleen all about it. I'm sure they'll have no trouble finding the barrier." James relaxed. "All, right, Da-Jun, you go first. Then John, Melanie, Darlene and Jon, Aria, James, and me." They all quickly strode into the wall, and suddenly they appeared on the other side. It was 10:43 already, 17 minutes until the train left. Melanie was already laughing with a group of friends. She was very popular, being the kind, intelligent, funny, and pretty girl that she was. James saw quite a few boys in her year look in her direction admiringly.

The train tooted, and Darlene said hurriedly, "Okay, so I've given you 50 galleons to spend for the year; it's in your trunk, in the secret pouch. And you mum has given you the same amount. Don't," she gave him a warning look, "spend it all on pranks." She and Alanna both hugged and kissed their children, then the fathers bade them farewell in the same fashion, and they were sent off to the train.

"So, sit in the same compartment, or meet new people and sit in separate spots?" James asked. Aria chose the latter. James agreed, "Okay. Oh, and," he hesitated, "look for a girl named Lily, alright? She has red hair that you can't miss. I met her in Diagon Alley, and I think you would love her."

Aria nodded and asked James, "Who're you gonna sit with, do you know?"

James grinned mischievously. "I'm off to find a bloke named Sirius Black." When she heard the surname, she raised her eyebrows, but James hastily added, "He's not anything like his parents at all. We're gonna cause loads of trouble at Hogwarts." His eyes twinkled. "Well, I'm off. See you later."

James headed towards a long corridor, poking his head in each compartment. Many had girls who saw him and gasped, then winked at him. He would hurry pass that door, disgusted. Some were also friendly enough looking boys, but he wanted to see Sirius! The next few compartments were full of sneering, vicious-looking Slytherins. He kept searching until h e reached the compartment door at the end of this section. It had only one sleeping boy in it. Exasperated, James closed the door when he heard a familiar voice.

"Oy! Is that James?" James turned towards the speaker of the loud voice, and saw the face of a cheerful Sirius Black.

"I've been looking all over this place for you, mate," James called, annoyed.

"Sorry," Sirius grinned cheekily. "Got involved in another fight with my bloody parents. I don't even remember what it was about. Something about how I'd better get into some House or other." After a moment's thinking, he decided, "Slytherin. Yea, everyone in my family's been in the House," he said the word with venom. "So, where're we gonna sit?"

Shaking his head, James pointed to the last door he'd opened. "There's only one boy in there. . .unless of course, we _could_ go kick some Slytherins out of theirs."

"Yeah, but then we'd have to sit on their slimy seats that they sat in. Especially my cousin Bellatrix. She's a third year and she's the most annoying of all my evil, Dark Arts obsessed cousins." He rolled his eyes. "I swear, she's gonna be the death of me one day."

James opened the door, bowing to Sirius mockingly, "Ladies first."

Sirius swept in, at first not noticing what James had called him. He surveyed the room, then stopped. "Hey! Shut up!" he complained. This loud noise woke the sleeping boy. He had sandy-blond coloured hair, light brown eyes, a tall, slim figure, much like that of James and Sirius, and a handsome face. His face, however good-looking, was pale, his eyes tired and wary. He looked simply exhausted.

"Sorry," James apologized. "Sirius, you woke him up!" He turned to the boy again. "Is it okay to sit here?"

The boy didn't look unfriendly, yet not particularly friendly either. "Yes." He sounded distant, as though he didn't want to get himself involved with others.

"So, what's your name?" Sirius asked.

Something flickered across the boy's face; what was it? Shadow, fear? It was as if he were afraid of them knowing his name. In a moment, it was gone and he hesitantly answered, "Lupin. Remus Lupin."

Aria wandered down a corridor, sticking her head in a few compartments, trying to catch a glimpse of red hair After searching 12 compartments, Aria came to another door. She knocked, then pulled the handle warily. There was someone with red hair inside! She opened the door wider, but became shy in the process of doing so. "Hi," she said timidly. "Is your name by any chance, Lily Evans?"

**Lily**

Lily found herself standing at the barrier of Platform 9 ¾ with the rest of her family. Alanna had given very clear, precise instructions, but one still didn't make sense.

"I'm just supposed to-to walk through the wall?" Lily asked in disbelief.

"Well, sweetie, those were Alana's instructions. She said that Muggles just don't notice people walking through because it's charmed to make Muggles not want to look at it, or just forget it."

"Well, I guess since all of this _is_ real. . . ." Lily prepared to walk into the wall. "You guys'll follow me, right?"

"I'm obviously being forced to, aren't I?" muttered Petunia.

"Of course, sweetie," he dad replied.

Lily took a deep breath to calm her hammering heart. She started about two meters from the wall, closed her eyes, and then opened them again, deciding not to miss seeing this. She pushed her trolley forward, faster and faster, and into the wall! She immediately ended up on the other side, not feeling as though she had just walked through a thick, brick wall. It was as if she'd walked into another world. People in robes everywhere had owls in hand, or were doing small magic with their wands. Thinking of owls, she looked back to James, who gave her a reassuring look. Feeling more confident, she looked around some more. The air itself here seemed to be different. There were no sounds of normal birds, just the croaking of frogs, purring meows from cats, and an occasional hoot from some owls.

Her family arrived from the wall, looking amazed, or, in Petunia's case, looking as though she was going to blow up. "Sorry Lily," Rob apologized. "Your sister put on quite a scene. We had to wait for everything to calm down before we could try it." He glowered at Petunia, who sniffed in disdain. Lily could imagine Petunia screaming and kicking to not go through some "freakish wall."

"Here," her mum pressed a large, heavy pouch into Lily's hands. "There's 25 galleons in that."

"Mum!" cried Lily. "I don't need this!"

"Well, whether you need it or not, take it anyway, just in case."

Lily reluctantly agreed and put the money in her trunk carefully. She checked her watch; it read 10:40. "Well, I'd better get on the train." Her dad hugged her tightly, kissing her forehead. Next, her mum kissed her check and hugged her warmly with tears in her eyes. Lastly, Lily approached Petunia, unsure of what to say or do. They stood there for a moment, unmoving, until Lily put her arms out to hug Petunia, but Petunia stepped out of her reach, making Lily look and feel like a fool.

"Did you actually think for a moment that I would allow someone like _you,_ hug someone like _me?_" she asked in an icy tone.

"Petunia. . . .I. . . ." Lily didn't know what to say.

"Good-bye, little sister. I hope that the school hates you, and you'll come back to the _normal _world. Until then, so long, freak." Petunia swiftly turned and crossed her arms over her chest, refusing to say more.

Lily blinked back tears, and turned to the train. Her parents' faces were plaintive; they understood that Petunia couldn't change. "We love you Lily!" her mum called out.

Lily smiled and answered back. "I love you too, Mum, Dad. . .and Petunia." With that, she stepped onto the train. Dragging her trunk behind her, she looked until she found an empty compartment. It wasn't hard, considering the fact that she was about 15 minutes early. She sat down, placing James on the ground, staring out the window, wondering what this new part of her life would be like.

Just about five minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and an Asian girl poked her head in, looking rather shy.

"Hi, is your name, by any chance, Lily Evans?"

Lily was surprised and awed. "You can tell who someone is just by looking at them? Will I learn how to do that?"

The girl smiled slightly. "No, one of my friends, James, told me to look for you," she said shyly.

Lily suddenly realised that the girl was still outside the room, and jumped up hurriedly. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot you were- I mean, come in!" She helped the girl lug her trunk in. Now that the girl was in the room, Lily studied her, and though she was quite sure that a friend of James wouldn't be nasty, Lily looked for a trace of what she was really like. The girl was beautiful, Lily noted. Her black hair looked to be as soft as silk, and she had a slim figure; she was just as tall as Lily. In fact, her physical appearance was very much like Lily's, just with dark brown eyes, tanner skin, and raven hair. "So, um, what's your name?" Lily asked.

"Aria Darbyshire," she answered softly. "And James told me your name, but not your surname."

"Lily Evans. Are you like James? I mean, a pureblood?" Aria nodded. "Oh, well I'm Muggle-born. No one in my family has had magic before."

"Really? That's interesting." They waited a few seconds in an uncomfortable silence until Aria finally broke it. "Do you know how we get sorted into the Houses?"

"The Houses? What are the Houses?"

"You don't know? O, well, there are four Houses in Hogwarts. When you first enter Hogwarts, you get picked for one of the four Houses. James and I haven't figured how yet." She sighed. "There's Gryffindor, who's brave and true, (me and James want to get into that one) then there's Ravenclaw, who's really smart, Hufflepuff, who's loyal, and Slytherin. You don't want to get into Slytherin. They're a bad lot, and strongly oppose have Muggles in Hogwarts."

Lily had listened in rapt silence. When Aria mentioned Slytherins not liking Muggles in magic schools, she wondered if it h ad anything to do with the people who'd called her and her mum, 'Mudbloods.' So she decided to ask.

"Would they wear a lot of green, and call Muggles, 'Mudbloods'?

Aria's expression darkened. "Did somebody call you that?" Her voice had a dangerous tone to it.

"Well, yeah. But James and Melanie explained what it was to me. Were they Slytherins though?"

"Yes. The Slytherin colours are green and silver, and their mascot is a snake." Her eyes were still stormy. "Not only Slytherins do that though. A few Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw may call you that. Very rare and unlikely, but still possible," Aria explained. "But Dumbledore's an excellent headmaster. Many have changed their opinions about Muggles after Dumbledore became headmaster. That is, changed their opinion into believing Muggles should be allowed in Hogwarts," she added.

"So that's who he is!" Lily exclaimed. Aria looked confused. "Dumbledore. I've heard his name mentioned a few times before, and people always talked about him as if he was someone everyone," she paused, searching for the right word, "respected. As if he was extremely important," she finished.

Aria nodded. "Yes, you're right. Dumbledore is a great wizard. Most people believe that he's the greatest wizard of our time."

Lily let the information sink into her head. Bang! The door swung open. Two girls around their age, looking flustered, face them.

"Hi, can we sit here?" The first one asked. Lily and Aria glanced at each other, then nodded.

"Thank you so much," the second one sighed with relief. "I'm Isabel Baker. This is Amie. . ." she turned towards the first girl.

"Searle," she finished. "Isabel and I just met. What are your names?"

"I'm Lily Evans, and that's Aria Darbyshire." She pointed to her new friend. "We also just met."

The two new girls were rather pretty. In fact, they were _very _pretty. Isabel had golden hair with piercing blue eyes. She wore a white jumper zipped up three quarters, revealing a red tank top underneath, and tight jeans over her long legs. Her hair framed her face perfectly and fell down her back, curling towards her back at the end.

Amie looked like a tomboy. She kept her shiny, straight, brown hair in a high ponytail. Her dark blue/gray eyes were under elegantly arched eyebrows and next to her high cheekbones. Her frame was thin and smaller than everyone else, looking to be very agile and nimble. She wore a light red cardigan with baggy jeans.

The two new girls sat down after putting their trunks away. An awkward silence filled the room.

"So." Amie finally said.

"Why don't we introduce ourselves and saw our hobbies," Lily suggested.

"I'll go first," Isabel volunteered. "Okay. I'm Isabel Baker, and I'm 11 years old. My birthday's in February. February 9, actually. I'm a . . . erm, Muggle, I think?" The other three nodded. "I live in London. Um . . . what else. . .I play football, and dance. My mum's a fashion designer, and my dad's a pilot. Oh yeah, and I play the flute."

"Me next," Amie said as the train tooted one last time and started to move. "My name's Amie Searle. I live in Rowena Creek, it's a wizarding street," she added when she saw Lily and Isabel's confused looks. "My dad's a wizard and my mum's a Muggle. I'm an only child-"

"Oh yea, I have an older brother named Francis too," Isabel remembered. "Sorry, go on."

"Okay. I play football, rugby, basketball, ice hockey, volleyball, and Quidditch. I used to swim and do gymnastics too. Hmm. . . .my birthday is on June 1. My mum coaches a swim team, and my dad works for the Ministry of Magic. He's kind of like the ambassador for the Ministry o f Magic to other magical organisations." She stopped and looked around. "Okay, who's next?"

"Me. I'm Lily Evans, and my birthday's on May 15. My dad owns a law firm, and my mum stays home. I have an older sister named Petunia. I figure-skate, I play the piano, and I'm a black belt in karate. I live in Surrey. Okay, not it's Aria's turn." Aria hadn't said anything this whole time and now she spoke very softly.

"I'm Aria Darbyshire. My mum stays home too, and my father owns Gringotts. It's the wizarding bank," she explained to Lily and Isabel.

Amie's mouth had dropped open. "Your dad owns Gringotts! Awesome!"

Aria smiled slightly. "I'm Chinese-English. I have a little brother named Jon. I have trained to be a ninja, I dance, I horse-ride, I can do archery, and I play the piano and violin. I live on Godric's Hollow."

She'd just finished when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Amie called. A plump lady pushing a trolley filled with foreign sweets pushed open the door.

"Would you dears like anything to eat?" she asked with a cheerful smile.

The four girls jumped up. "How 'bout we buy everything and split the money?" Isabel suggested. The other three agreed. Isabel turned back towards the trolley lady. "How much is it for two of everything on the cart?"

"One galleon, dear," the trolley lady answered. She didn't look surprised that the girls wanted to try everything. Isabel handed her a single galleon, while the trolley lady handed her two bags full of sweets. She waved and left. Isabel dumped everything on an empty seat. The other three handed her a fourth of the price, which she pocketed.

"Wow!" Lily exclaimed. "Look at all of these!" She picked out one that looked safe, and like jelly beans. She read the name. "Bertie Bott's Every flavor Beans." Aria was about to warn her, but too late; Lily had already confidently popped it in her mouth. At first, her face froze, then slowly, it turned beet red. "Eeeewwwwww!" she shrieked. Aria had gotten a Kleenex ready in case and thrust it at her. Lily grabbed it and spat the bean into it. "Thanks," she panted. "That was_ horrible._ I'm never eating a Bertie whatever bean ever again. It was so gross!"

"They're not all like that. They really mean _every flavor_. There are really good ones, but disgusting ones too." She smiled mischievously. "Are you brave enough to try another one?" He eyes twinkled.

Lily gulped, but declared dramatically, "I shall try one more!" She carefully chose a red one, hoping it wouldn't be as bad as the first. Nervously, she put it in her mouth, awaiting the mysteriously taste.

The delicious flavor bloomed in her mouth. She didn't know what it was, but it tasted _wonderful._ The candy washed away any remaining taste of the first one.

"Wow," she breathed. "That was so good." Aria smiled again. For the rest of the train ride, the four girls experimented with different foods, laughed at each other's stories, and had loads of fun.

**James**

Meanwhile, Sirius, James, and Remus were introducing themselves too.

"I'm James Potter. Quidditch rules!" He turned to Sirius while snacking on a Pumpkin Pasty. "Your turn." Sirius and James had both gotten one of each thing off the trolley lady's cart.

"My name is Sirius Black," he stated gravely. "All girls worship me. My brother's a prick. I hate my parents. QUIDDITCH RULES!" he yelled the last sentence so loudly that a few 'What's going on's could be heard in the corridor. In response, Sirius poked his head out and bellowed, "QUIDDITCH RULES!" Unexpectedly, a few cheers went up six doors down. Surprised, James and Sirius padded down to the door the cheers had come from while Remus stayed behind. Opening the door, they saw four grinning faces of boys.

"Um. . .hi," started James, unsure of what to do or say.

Sirius got right to the point. "You guys like Quidditch?"

"Yeah!" one of the guys shouted. "I'm Scottie Silver." Scottie had dark brown hair with dark green eyes on his handsome face. "This is Dom Queenscove," he gestured to another tall, strong-looking, handsome boy with dirty blond hair and clear blue eyes. "This is Shawn Gordon and Matt Garland." He pointed to two plainer-looking boys.

"I'm James Potter, and this is Sirius Black." James introduced to them. They both sat down. "So, think you'll make it onto the Quidditch team next year?"

"I would hope so! Whenever my family and I play, I play Beater. Father says I'm quite good, but I don't really think so," Dom replied.

"I'm Chaser whenever I play," Scottie said.

"Hey, me too!" James exclaimed.

"And I'm a beater!" cheered Sirius. "Wouldn't it be awesome if we could all be on the same team?"

"Yeah," they chorused.

"My older brother was a Chaser last year," Shawn said.

"So," continued Matt, "you guys have any idea how we're getting sorted?"

Scottie shuddered. "My sister hinted at a huge monster, with huge yellow eyes. . . ." he shivered again. "You guys know any useful spells yet?"

"Well, all my parents try to teach me is that stupid Dark Arts stuff." Sirius made a face. He saw the surprised faces of the four new boys. "Yup, no big news. My family's just about one of the evilest ones out there. _Every single day,_ they blabber about how some Dark Lord, Voldy something will soon rise to power." He imitated his mother's manly voice.

"Erm. . okay. . .anywho, my family's pureblood too, and all I know are simple spells," sighed Dom. "Nothing useful to fight at all unless you call setting the table and cleaning stuff battling."

"Same here," Scottie said, sadly shaking his head.

"Well, Shawn and I come from half-blood families so. . . ." Matt left the sentence hanging in the air.

"Well," James hesitated. "My parents _did _teach me a defense-spell once. . .but. . . I can't remember it. . . ." he frowned. "I think it's for when someone smaller than you is attacking you. It makes the thing freeze for seven seconds, enough for you to get away." Their hopeful faces made him think harder to try and remember the spell. "I doubt the thing will be smaller than- wait! Okay, it's septsar!" He pronounced it as set-sar.

"You wanna try it?" Sirius grinned mischievously. Eyes roamed around the room, but located no one much smaller than the other. A knock sounded on the door. It opened to reveal a rather short boy. He had mousy brown hair, and short beady eyes with a pointed nose, making him look like a rodent. He had a pudgy body, making him look out of place among the tall, lean, and handsome other boys.

"Um, can I sit he-" he managed to squeak in a high, girly voice before-

"Septsar!" Sirius' voice sounded around the room, his wand pointed at the new, chubby boy. The victim froze. Everyone was too shocked to do anything.

"1,2,3,4,5,6,7," Sirius counted slowly. Right on 7, the rodent-like boy fell to his knees with a surprised cry.

James recovered first, rushing to the fallen boy's side. "Are you alright?" he gasped, concerned.

"Yes," the boy whimpered. "I-I think so."

James turned to Sirius, with a serious expression his face. "You're only supposed to use it on attackers!" he scolded. "But, that was bloody amazing, mate." His face split into a smile. "I've never met anyone who could get a spell as quick as me."

"You-you mean,_ both_ of you can get a spell on the first time?" Dom asked, amazed. They both nodded.

"Hey, can I try it?" Scottie's eyes fell on the newcomer. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Peter Pettigrew," he managed weakly. His eyes bulged as he realised what Scottie had just implied. "You want to-to. . ."

"Please?" Scottie begged. "This time you'll be ready. It won't hurt at all!" Peter reluctantly agreed, and Scottie took out his wand. "Septsar!" he shouted. Peter froze for two seconds, then blinked. "Septsar," Scottie repeated more forcefully. This time, he froze Peter for four seconds, but with Peter's eyes still moving. He tried again and again, until the fifth time, when he finally got it right. All the boys tried it, Dom getting it on his fifth too, Shawn on his eleventh, Matt on his tenth, and James on his first.

An hour later, James and Sirius announced that they should leave. They invited Peter to come with them, and he happily agreed.

When they returned, they saw Remus sitting, gloom wrapping around him like a cloak. "Remus, this is Peter. Peter, Remus," James introduced. He couldn't help but notice as Remus smiled faintly, a very subtle look of envy in his eyes. Why would he be jealous? James wondered.

"You'll be wanting to change out of those Muggle clothes, and into robes," James told Peter helpfully. Peter changed, and an hour and an hour and a half later, they arrived at Hogwarts.


End file.
